Candle in the Dark
by Diavenia
Summary: Surrounded by darkness from enemies and allies alike, they were each others' light. She kept him burning brightly, he kept her from burning out. A series about Kanda and Lenalee when they were kids in the Black Order. Kanda & Lenalee kidfic!
1. First Impressions

Disclaimer: DGM belongs to Katsura Hoshino-sensei, not me =)

**Candle in the Dark**

_Discordant Silence_

* * *

**First Impressions**

"Let go of me, old man!" A livid voice snapped from the direction of the infirmary door.

"Now, now Yuu-kun, that's no way to talk to your father!" A gruff, yet friendly voice teased back.

"I'm NOT your son!" came the furious retort.

Lenalee blearily opened her eyes, awakened by the loud voices. Blinking a few times, she lifted her head slightly from the pillow to see who the noisy pair was. A middle aged man with greying brown hair with a kind, patient smile holding a struggling arm in his grasp. The owner of that struggling arm was a child, a little older than her, Lenalee observed, with the longest, silkiest hair she had ever seen. The child's otherwise beautiful features were marred by an irate scowl, with eyebrows that were so furrowed that they seemed to be digging permanent ridges in her face.

Lenalee watched the Matron hurry over and try to placate the two of them. "Kanda, please show some respect to the General, hmm?" When Kanda merely sent a scorching glare her way, the Matron twitched and towered menacingly. "Or at least keep it down so others here can sleep?" Anyone else would have been cowed by the Matron in demon-mode, but Kanda merely swept his glare across the medical wing, landing on Lenalee briefly before he returned his focus to his captor.

"Let go! Don't make me slice your arm off, old man!" Kanda whipped his hand down to his side, intending to unsheathe Mugen, only to find empty space where his sheath should have been. "What? When did you—!"

"Uh-uh-uh," General Tiedoll shook his head reprimandingly. "You aren't getting Mugen back until you promise to stay here for the night!" He held Mugen in his other hand, waving it just out of Kanda's reach.

Kanda growled under his breath before muttering, "Che. Fine."

"Sorry, what was that?"

"I said FINE!" Kanda snarled, finally snatching his arm free from Tiedoll's iron grip.

"That's better!" Tiedoll gave Kanda's head a few pats, hard enough that Lenalee heard them. She winced slightly, but Kanda just stood there with his arms crossed, otherwise unresponsive. "I leave Yuu in your capable hands, Matron. Sorry he's more irritable than usual. See you in the morning!" He subtly slipped the Matron a note before stepping out of the room with a cheery wave.

"Come on, Kanda, let's get you to bed." The Matron put a hand on Kanda's shoulder, meaning to direct him to the bed directly left of Lenalee's.

"No thanks, I don't need your help," Kanda snapped, shaking her hand off. Instead, he chose the bed to her right, the one right under the window. Without another word, he threw the covers back, got on the bed, and threw them back over him. The Matron shook her head and huffed. "Fine, I'll attend to you later." She bustled off to the other end of the wing with her medical cart.

Left alone with Kanda, Lenalee felt a twinge of excitement at the opportunity to meet someone her age for the first time since she had arrived at the Black Order. She rolled over onto her side and propped her head up on her arm. Suddenly unsure of what to say to the unmoving lump under the blankets, she started with a quiet, "Umm, hi! I'm Lenalee Lee, nice to meet you!" She smiled brightly, even though the lump couldn't see her. Not getting a response, Lenalee tried again. "I'm Lenalee, what's your name?"

After a few more moments of awkward silence, the lump finally gave a curt muffled reply. "Kanda."

Excited at coaxing a response, Lenalee opened the floodgates and words came tumbling out of her mouth. "Kanda? But it's your last name, isn't it? Didn't that man from earlier call you Yuu?" She paused, noticing that her listener had stiffened ever so slightly. "Sorry, you want to be called Kanda, right? But still, Yuu is a very pretty name! And—"

"What kind of wimpy Exorcist would want a 'pretty' name?" Kanda interrupted, pulling down his blankets to face her properly.

Lenalee bit her lip. "Well, I'm an Exorcist in training, and my brother used to tell me that my name was really pretty, back when we…" She broke off, fiddling with her fingers in an attempt to stem the flow of memories of her brother.

Supremely unaware of her discomfort, Kanda countered, "Che. You're a girl, it's different. Wait. A little kid like you is an Exorcist?"

"But aren't you too?"

"An Exorcist?"

"No, a girl."

Once again, they lapsed into an awkward pause as Lenalee wondered what she had said wrong and Kanda fumed. The frustration of the failed mission with his General that morning had worn what little patience Kanda had down to nubs. After putting up with the girl's chatter, even giving his own name when asked, this was his reward? _This is why I hate people. They're all so annoying._ Kanda seethed. "I'm a BOY."

Lenalee's eyes widened and she stammered, "I- I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"

Taken aback by her earnest, pleading eyes compared to the teasing (more like mocking) twinkle of his mentor's gaze, Kanda felt his initial anger dissipate. "Forget it." He flipped onto his other side, back turned to Lenalee.

Lenalee bit her lip, inwardly berating herself for alienating the only person who she could potentially be friends with.

The Matron returned to their end of the wing with the medical cart. She stopped in front of Kanda first and glared down at him. Kanda refused to look up. The Matron sighed and reached into her apron pocket. She withdrew the note Tiedoll had given her, held it out to Kanda, and warned him, "General Tiedoll left me this note saying that he would keep Mugen until you cooperated with the medical staff. And that he would paint all over its hilt if you didn't get your bandages changed."

An unbidden image of daisies and cute furry animals painted on his Mugen leapt into Kanda's mind. It was enough to get Kanda to sit up and shrug off his loose shirt, revealing his bandaged chest. He sullenly raised his arms and allowed the Matron to unravel his bandages. All his minor cuts and bruises had healed already, but one deeper cut that stretched from his lower rib to his opposite side was still prominent. He saw someone flinch out of the corner of his eye and turned his head.

Lenalee winced when she saw the cut on Kanda's chest. Did he get that from fighting Akuma? She shook her head, mentally rebuking herself for almost asking such a stupid question. Although his facial expression didn't change when the Matron applied antiseptic over the cut, Lenalee saw his hand twitch towards his chest just a fraction. It must actually hurt a lot, she reasoned, biting her lip.

Kanda frowned when he saw the girl looking over at him with her large, violet eyes. He had half the mind to tell her off for staring at him and not minding her own business, but decided to stifle the feeling and just ignore her. He turned his head away almost imperiously, dismissing her attention as curiosity.

"Your bandages are finished, Kanda. Now get a good night's sleep and we'll discharge you in the morning. The morning, do you hear? No earlier." The Matron warned her young charge sternly.

Kanda looked away from her with a "Che." He stacked a few of his pillows and leaned back into them. He was surprised when he heard the Matron trundle over to the girl's bed and say, "Lenalee, it's your turn now." She was injured too? Wasn't she only an Exorcist-in-training?

"Okay Matron." Lenalee pushed the covers back to the foot of the bed. Kanda's eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw that her legs were completely bandaged from her feet to her knees. The Matron carefully undid the dressings, revealing a mosaic of dark bruises and welts underneath. She gasped, "Oh Lenalee!"

Lenalee leaned forward for a better look. "Oh, the bruises have darkened. He's going to be mad at me again…"

"Never mind that horrid man! Forcing children to hurt themselves for this ridiculous war! It's an outrage!" the Matron scowled, wringing her hands.

Lenalee sighed, "My synchro with the Dark Boots failed yesterday, but he insisted I try harder… and then this happened." She gestured vaguely to her legs. The Matron's arms wrapped around her in a comforting hug and she hid her face in her shoulder, not willing to let her unseen tears fall.

The Matron patted her head. "Things will get better. Don't give up, okay Lenalee?"

"Thank you, Matron." Lenalee sank back down on her pillows, allowing the Matron to tuck her back in. "Goodnight dear," the Matron turned off the lights and left the room.

Kanda had surreptitiously watched the whole exchange, unwilling to admit that he cared – no, that was the wrong word – that he was bothered about that girl's condition. Why was he bothered? Was it because she vaguely reminded him of that time he was a test subject in the Second Exorcist experiment? Except she was even younger than he had been… And she was alone. Wait, she had mentioned a brother, hadn't she? Where was he? He glanced in her direction. She was facing him, curled into a tight ball under the covers. As if she were aware of his attention, her eyes flickered open and returned his stare. They didn't say anything for the longest time, until Lenalee broke the silence with a tiny, "Hi…"

Unsure of how to respond, Kanda mumbled back, "Hi." The silence that followed was deafening. Kanda had never been one for socializing – that was an understatement. What should he say? A small part of him wanted to ask about her, about her Innocence, and about the man who had forced her into this. Before he could formulate a coherent statement in his mind, Lenalee spoke up again. "I'm sorry."

Kanda was baffled, although he didn't show it. "For what?"

"For calling you a girl earlier. I'm sorry." Lenalee looked away.

"Forget it." Kanda muttered.

"Does this mean you forgive me?" Lenalee managed a tiny smile.

"Che."

"Goodnight Kanda," she whispered before turning over. Just before drifting off, she heard him return a barely discernable "Goodnight."

For the first night since arriving at the Order two years ago, Lenalee fell asleep with a smile.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The first installment in a series of Kanda and Lenalee kidfics that I'm writing! =D These will range from childhood to preteenagehood.

Please drop off a review to let me know how I did? Reviews are excellent motivation for an author to write more, especially with school now in session. -.-

Thanks for reading! =D

~D.S.


	2. Night Sky

**Night Sky**

It had been a few days since her first meeting with Kanda. He had checked out of the infirmary the next morning, when Lenalee was still asleep. She had been upset that he hadn't said goodbye, but the Matron insisted that he had been trying to be considerate by not disturbing her sleep. She had accepted the explanation, but couldn't help wanting to see him again.

The medical wing was boring, but even more significantly, it was lonely. Although the Matron talked to her whenever she made her rounds, her visits were brief because she had other people to take care of. No one else concerned themselves with her, not when they had their own busy agendas to deal with or their own injuries to recover from. Kanda, as irritable and scathing as he was, had broken the monotony. He had been the only person she could talk to, maybe even make friends with.

Her wish to see Kanda was granted the next evening, when his ever-scowling face reappeared at the doorway of the wing. "Oh! You're back!" Lenalee exclaimed, a smile lighting up her face. Then, double-taking when she realized that they were in the infirmary, concern entered her tone. "Are you okay?"

Kanda whipped his infamous glare her direction. "No." As he stormed towards the bed on her right, she distinctly hear him mutter, "old geezer" and "fixing my room" and "Che." It was clear from his scornful tone that his fatherly mentor General Tiedoll was one of the renovators. He carefully placed Mugen beside his bed and turned over without a word.

Acquainted with his sullen attitude, Lenalee just smiled and decided to wait until he was ready to talk again.

* * *

In the meantime, Tiedoll was critically assessing the walls of Kanda's room with Yeegar, taking in the dull crumbling brick pattern. A moment of artistic reflection passed.

"Sunshine yellow or bubblegum pink?" Tiedoll asked, holding up two paint cans.

* * *

The sun had gone down hours ago. Soft moonlight streamed through the window above Kanda's bed. The last candle had been blown out half an hour ago. Click. The Matron almost-silently closed the door to her room on the opposite end of the wing, signifying the end of her workday.

_Che. I thought she'd never leave._ Kanda thought, heaving off his covers and putting on his Exorcist coat which he had neatly folded and put under his pillow. He stood up on his bed, squinting out at the luminescent moon. _A full moon tonight. Good._ He noted absently, keeping his eyes focused on the world beyond his window while reaching down for his boots and Mugen. Unwittingly, he bumped into the corner of his nightstand with his arm. He silently cursed, blaming the enticing glow of the moon on his rare moment of clumsiness. Good thing no one noticed. He cast a furtive glance around the wing, stopping on Lenalee. She had turned slightly in her sleep, but otherwise showed no signs of wakefulness.

Kanda balanced one foot on his headboard as he undid the latches on the window. Holding his breath, he slowly eased it open with practiced hands. Of all the windows he had access to in the Black Order HQ, the ones in the infirmary were easiest to crawl through. Ironic, really.

Squeeeeeak. Kanda inwardly groaned. Just his luck; a few inches from being opened completely, the window's hinges decided to complain. What else could go wrong tonight?

"Kanda?" a sleepy voice called out. Kanda mentally bashed his head against the wall. Never had one of his escapades gone so badly before. What happened to his swift, ninja-like ability to move anywhere unnoticeably?

Half perched on the window ledge, he hissed down at Lenalee, "Go back to sleep." But it was already too late. Lenalee opened her eyes fully and saw Kanda – half of Kanda, rather, seeing as an arm and leg were already hanging out of the window. Struggling to pull back her tightly tucked blankets, Lenalee whispered loudly, "What are you doing?"

"Not so loud!" Kanda warned, shushing her.

Lenalee extricated herself from her covers and reached down for her cloth shoes. She slipped them on over her bandaged feet and made her way over to his bed. "Where are you going?"

"Outside. Go back to bed," Kanda said, eyes darting around to see if they had woken anybody else up. Satisfied that the other infirmary occupants were sound asleep, he slid the rest of his body out of the window and dropped out of sight.

The infirmary was on the second floor! Lenalee gasped and rushed over to the window, standing on tiptoe on his bed. The height wouldn't be enough to kill him, but a drop from this high up would surely cause injuries. "Kanda?" she whispered frantically, using her thin arms to hoist herself onto the ledge as well, poking her head out of the window. She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him edging along a lower ledge that jutted out beneath the first one. So it wasn't a clean drop to the ground.

"What?" he snapped irritably, sparing a glance upwards at her.

"I'm coming too," she decided suddenly, a sense of adventure seizing her. Before he could protest, she scurried out of the window as well, landing on his ledge with a muted thump.

Kanda shook his head tetchily at her impulsiveness, but inched over to give her more room. _Che. Let her come, I don't care._ He swung his legs off the ledge and dropped onto the next one. "Next jump is the ground," he instructed, preparing to leap. He paused, expecting Lenalee to respond. She didn't.

The night was so quiet that he could hear his own even breathing and her shaky, uncertain breaths. He looked up and saw that she was standing unsteadily on the ledge above him, eyes glued on her feet. He sighed and held out his hand. She stared at it uncomprehendingly and didn't move. "Come on," he proffered his hand again. "We're wasting time."

The ledge hadn't looked so far away when she had first dropped on to it. And he had made it look so easy, the way he lowered himself down effortlessly. When he had held out his hand, Lenalee could not comprehend the action. For almost as long as she could remember, her fear and reluctance had been confronted by an angry, booming voice belonging to a man that towered over her. If she waited too long, that man would grab her and force her into synchronization, whether she was prepared or not.

A voice completely unlike the one she was used to brought her back to reality. It was the boy, still holding out his hand from below. _Take his hand. _An internal voice urged her. Trembling, she slowly bent down and let him enfold her hand in his calloused digits. She kept a steady grip as she landed next to him, wincing slightly at the impact.

Kanda noticed her wince but didn't ask anything. He didn't complain, even though she was crushing his fingers. He fluidly slid onto the ground and watched her follow him, letting go of his hand once her feet firmly touched the ground. For a second, they stood staring at each other, neither saying a word.

Lenalee broke the silence by weakly chuckling, "I guess I'm not one for heights, huh? So where are we headed?" She swept her curious eyes around them, taking in their surroundings. They had landed in front of a wooded area, one of the few areas that didn't feature the rocky terrain that surrounded and guarded the headquarters.

Kanda ignored the question, instead, walking straight into the dense woods. Lenalee hurried after him, pushing branches out of her face. The real trouble was the undergrowth that lashed out at her already injured legs. They were leafy enough not to leave cuts, but each time they whipped against one of her bruises she felt a jolt of pain shoot up her leg. She gritted her teeth and looked ahead. Kanda's navy-tinted hair was completely black in the darkness afforded by the intertwining treetops, moonlight cutting small gaps in the leaves. The only visible bit of him was a white hair-tie that was advancing through the woods rather quickly. She opened her mouth to ask him to wait, and then decided against it. She had already slowed him down so much. _Come on!_ She urged herself, forging forwards through the forest.

Kanda appeared at the other side of the forest, brushing a few stray leaves off his coat. He didn't need to turn around to confirm that Lenalee was still following him. He could hear her crashing through the forest with an occasional muffled yelp. She finally burst through the wall of foliage, panting slightly.

"Made it!" Lenalee managed a smile, still breathing rather heavily from the effort it took to keep up with him. "You're really fast, you know?"

Not sure of how to reply, Kanda turned and pointed at a wall of steep ragged stone ahead. "It's just up there," he said. "We'll climb." With that, he shifted Mugen so it was more comfortably strapped to his back and found a foothold on the small cliff side.

"Up there?" Lenalee gulped, staring at the face of the rock wall, about five body-lengths high. She watched him climb, expertly finding holds and shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was halfway up before he looked down.

She hadn't budged. "Hurry or I'll leave you behind," he warned before returning his attention to the rock face.

She wasn't about to get left behind after coming all this way. Taking a deep breath, she gingerly placed her foot where Kanda's had been and grabbed the holds she had seen him use. Heaving herself up, she put her second foot on the wall and looked for the next jut to grab onto. She eyed a stable-looking extension above her left hand. It would require a stretch, but she could get it if she tiptoed. Reach… just a little higher… Right before she closed her fingers on the stone hold, her supporting leg began trembling violently, causing her to lose her balance.

She gasped, raking her fingers along the rock face frantically. Her fingers found a protrusion and gripped it tightly to save herself from falling. The trek through the forest combined with her already-overtaxed muscles had taken its toll. Even now, her legs were still shaking, and she knew it wasn't from fear or the cold. She bit her lip, knowing that there was no way she could climb in her condition. And after she had made it all this way too…

"Kanda… just go, I can't climb anymore," she said in a quiet voice. She lowered herself off the wall carefully, landing as lightly as she could on the ground. Even so, the landing still sent shockwaves of pain up her legs, causing her knees to buckle. She let out a gasp of pain and sprawled forward on the damp grass. Tears sprang into her eyes at the thought of her weakness.

She heard the rustle of a stiff coat up above her and a sigh. Thump. Kanda had flipped off the wall and landed beside her. She turned her head to the side and wiped her tears off on her sleeve before he could see them. She lifted her head and regarded his crouching figure with still watery eyes.

He didn't say or do anything for some time, just stayed crouching in front of her. Then, he slowly turned around, presenting her with his back. Lenalee looked at him, confused. Surely he couldn't mean for her to–?

"Get on." Kanda pointed at his back.

"But, but you can't possibly climb up there with me piggybacking on you!" Lenalee stammered, scrambling into a sitting position.

"Che. Are you doubting me?" was Kanda's retort.

Hesitantly, Lenalee got up and wrapped her arms around his neck securely.

"You're going to have to wrap your legs around me too. I need my arms to climb," he said pointedly.

"O-Okay," Lenalee said, arranging her legs around him as he stood up, almost overbalancing. "Sorry," Lenalee apologized.

"You weigh as much as a soba noodle," Kanda grunted as he began his ascent.

Lenalee hid a smile, knowing that he meant it reassuringly. Then again, he might also be dropping a not-so-subtle hint that she should be eating more, which was true. Between the increased frequency of experiments and more time spent in the medical wing, she had probably lost weight the past few weeks.

She pressed herself tighter to him as he rose higher and higher. Three feet to go, then two, and then they were at the top. They were on top of a grassy cliff, bordered by rock walls. The wall that they had come up on was much shorter that the ones on the far side - those ones sunk into a deep fog covered chasm. Kanda crouched down and slid her off unceremoniously. "Thank you, Kanda." Lenalee hugged him tightly from behind for a brief moment before loosening her arms.

Wasting no words, Kanda merely swept his arm out and pointed into the distance. Lenalee looked out at where he was indicating and let out a gasp. She took a few entranced steps towards the far side of the cliff and looked up.

There wasn't a single cloud in the sky that night, nothing to mar the moon's magnificence. Its beams caressed the night sky, casting various shades of midnight blue across the black expanse. Occasionally, a star would wink at the moon, as if trying to woo her. Then another star would challenge it, twinkling even brighter to prove its worth. The battle for the moon's companionship in the skies raged on all night, but to Lenalee, it was nothing more than a glittering mosaic of light framed on darkness. "It's beautiful…" she breathed as Kanda walked up beside her. "Thank you…" Keeping her eyes on the sky, she grasped his hand in hers and enfolded his fingers in hers.

Kanda jerked his hand back a bit uncomfortably, but didn't let go. No one else knew of this place. Here was the only place he could be alone and look out at the wild unrestrained sky. Here was the only place he could forget all his troubles and relinquish his past, even if it was temporary.

Why had he shown the girl this place? He had only met her a few days ago.

Her eyes, he decided. He recognized the loneliness in their purple depths, but there was something else in them that had troubled him more than he would admit. A deeper sorrow and frustration that he felt he could relate to if he reached a little further.

Maybe it was because that he subconsciously felt that she needed a sanctuary even more than he did.

He felt Lenalee slip her fingers from his. He watched her get down on her knees and carefully lean over the edge. Following her gaze, he looked down too. The sky melted into the ground far into the distance, the horizon invisible that night. The cliff was at the edge of the massive landmass that held the Black Order Headquarters up. Looking down, all they could see was a thick blanket of fog, enshrouding everything below it in gray mist.

"It's so thick you could almost walk on it," Lenalee murmured, reaching down an arm. Her fingers curled around the brisk night air, a breeze running through them. She conjured up a mental image of her future self, leaping across the cloud-like expanse gracefully to dance with the moon. So unrestrained… so free…

She subconsciously drew her arm back and stroked her finger along the side of her cloth shoe. _Could I do it with the Dark Boots one day?_ She couldn't help wondering as she drew back from the cliff face. She turned around and saw Kanda lying back on the grass.

"Kanda?" she whispered, crawling to his side. "Kanda?" she repeated. No response. She sat back and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest. His face was relaxed in sleep, his scowl not so permanent after all. The moonlight illuminated his face, accentuating his sharp features. She tried picturing what he would look like when he was older, with the same long hair, maybe even longer. He'd still be kind of girly looking, but handsome at the same time, of course. She smiled and lay down beside him. The cold, damp grass tickled her through her thin night clothes, but she revelled in the feeling. She filled her lungs with the fresh night air and breathed it out again with a contented sigh. "Goodnight then," she yawned, exhausted. She fell asleep instantly under the stars.

Kanda's eyes flew open the second he felt someone lie down beside him, but he remained motionless. He heard her say goodnight before dropping off to sleep. Lying still, he looked up at the emptying sky. It was as if the stars had tried extra hard to put on a show for her and were now petering out. That was fine; the still brightly shining moon made up for them.

He slowly sat up, careful not to disturb the sleeping girl beside him. He had meant to take a short nap before returning to the infirmary, but judging by her deep and even breathing, she would be out until the morning. Seeing her shiver slightly, he sighed. He slipped off his long Exorcist coat and draped it over her. It wasn't that cold tonight, he decided, while suppressing a shiver himself as his back was exposed to the night air, separated by a thin layer of white cotton. He lay back down a few feet away from her and closed his eyes, slipping into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It was early morning when Tiedoll found his pupil. He had snuck into the hospital wing before the sun rose, excited by the prospect of showing Kanda his newly renovated room. The second he had seen the empty bed, he immediately knew where Kanda could have disappeared to. Curiously, the girl's bed beside him was similarly unoccupied. Could it be–?

His suspicions were confirmed once he arrived on top of the grassy shelf. It had the best view for painting a good landscape on the whole of the Black Order landmass, and he had thought that he was the only one who knew about the secluded area until one night, when he had seen his pupil sitting on the cliff side staring into space. He had retreated back to his room that night, deciding that the view tomorrow would be just as good. Kanda never noticed him, even though Tiedoll had seen him from time to time.

Now he stood over two sleeping bodies. One slept soundly, warm and snug under an Exorcist's coat while the other slept more fitfully, wracked with the occasional shiver. Tiedoll smiled paternally and removed his cloak from his shoulders, meaning to put it over Kanda, but paused. _He probably already caught a cold, might as well leave him his – no, __**their**__ sanctuary._

He turned and left, his only disappointment being that Kanda wouldn't see the beautiful yellow-pink swirls he had painted on his wall until the afternoon.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

The geography and placement of the Black Order confuses me. Not to mention how the whole landmass kind of defies the laws of physics. Oh well, artistic licensing for the win!

Thanks for reading! Reviews would be appreciated =)


	3. Kanda's Cold

**Kanda's Cold**

"T'choo!" Kanda tried to stifle another sneeze. _Damn this annoying cold! This is the last time I ever lend my coat to anybody!_ His regenerative ability usually took the brunt of most of his illnesses, so for him to be this sick, it must be a pretty bad cold. He tried to pull his blankets up higher, but they were tangled at the foot of the bed. He snarled and gave them a savage tug. They came loose suddenly and Kanda smacked the back of his head painfully on the headboard at the sudden lack of resistance. He groaned.

Could his day get any worse? He twisted in his bed to adjust his pillow and caught sight of his wall. He growled under his breath. Apparently it could. A pink and yellow swirly pattern now decorated his walls, courtesy of his mentor Tiedoll.

He had returned to his room from a not-so-calming meditation session earlier (his constant coughing broke his concentration) that afternoon to find the bright colours splashed across his walls artfully, merrily mocking him. Only one person could have done this. "Old man!" he had ground out through his teeth. For the next hour or so, the other occupants of the Black Order had to dodge a silently raging boy who was storming up and down the halls, hammering on doors occasionally.

An image of a ridiculously happy Tiedoll grinning from ear to ear and waving a paintbrush around popped into his mind. Kanda slammed his head into his pillow repeatedly as his mental Mugen quickly sliced up the image into dust. Yes, dust.

He pulled the covers over his head to block out his walls. Between his pounding headache (he should have just lay still and let mental Mugen do its work) and wracking coughs, sleep refused to claim him. He turned under his blankets restlessly.

* * *

Outside Kanda's door, Lenalee stood holding a tea tray in her hands with his Exorcist coat draped over her arm. Setting the tray on the ground, she knocked gently on the door.

Kanda heard the knock and immediately thought of Tiedoll. No one else bothered him in his room except for that old man. "Go away!" he shouted, his voice raspy.

Lenalee jumped back a bit at the aggression in his voice. _He must be mad that I got him sick._ She thought guiltily. "Kanda? Please can I come in?" she called.

Kanda jerked the blankets off his head. _Lenalee? What does she want? _"Come in," he replied grouchily.

His door slowly opened and a pigtailed head popped in. "Hi Kanda, I brought you some tea," she greeted shyly. She bent down and picked up the tea tray, nudging the door closed with her foot. "I, umm, brought your coat too." She put down the tea tray on the table beside his bed and held up the coat.

"Oh, just… put it over there." Kanda ended his statement with a cough and pointed at foot of the bed.

"Oh, okay," Lenalee folded the coat in half and placed it at the end of his bed. She pulled up a chair beside his bedside and sat down.

"Umm, how are you feeling?" Lenalee asked, tapping her index fingers together.

Kanda shrugged and coughed slightly.

"Ah, dumb question, wasn't it?" Lenalee bit her lip. "Oh, try some tea, it'll help your cough." When he nodded his assent, she moved to help him sit up, but he waved her off, struggling to a sitting position by himself. Lenalee turned around and carefully picked up a mug by its handle. "Sorry, I couldn't find any teacups so I had to use these coffee mugs instead."

He took the mug from her hand. "Doesn't matter," he said. He took a sip of the tea, making a face at its bitter flavour.

Lenalee giggled at his disgusted face before reaching back into the tray and retrieving a packet. "Sorry! It's ginger tea, pretty bitter, huh? Try adding this!" She tore open the packet and a viscous golden liquid poured into his mug. She grabbed a chopstick from the tray and stirred it around. "Now try!"

Kanda obligingly took another sip and nodded. He took longer sip, letting out a content sigh. Lenalee smiled and poured a second packet of honey into her own mug. For a while, the two of them just sat there, sipping their tea.

Kanda tipped the mug higher and higher, drinking the last of the sweetened tea. It soothed his throat and warmed his insides. He looked over at Lenalee, who was staring down at her own tea but not drinking it.

Lenalee felt his eyes on her and noticed that he had finished his tea. "Oh! I'll take that for you," she said. She took his mug and set it on his table.

"Th-thank you," Kanda said awkwardly. He wasn't used to owing anyone favours; usually, he did everything for himself. His mentor was the exception, but since that man took it upon himself to annoy Kanda as much as possible, the two sides of his personality balanced out. Well, not really. He was still far more annoying than he was helpful.

Lenalee blushed slightly. "Oh, no no. It was my fault that you got sick in the first place."

"No, giving you my coat was my choice," Kanda stated stubbornly.

"Thank you," she said after a pause. "Or else I would be the one lying there sick." She offered a smile.

"But you wouldn't have anyone making you ginger tea," Kanda said in response. Realizing that he sounded rude, he added, "I've never been taught about things like this."

"My brother used to make me tea when I was little," Lenalee reminisced. Whenever she had been sick when she was younger, Komui would make her tea and cool spoonfuls of it at a time before feeding it to her when she was sick. He would kneel by her bedside with endless patience and tell her stories and sing her lullabies until she fell asleep. When she woke up, he would still be there, right beside her. With a pang of sadness, she realized that Kanda was right. There wasn't anybody at the Order who cared enough to even bring her tea when she was sick. The best she could hope for was bitter medicine from the Matron.

"O-Oi," Kanda said uneasily.

"Eh?" Lenalee snapped out of her trance, realizing that a tear had escaped her eye. "Oh!" She swiped at it hastily and looked away from him. "Sorry, it's just that… it's... it's hard to talk about Brother," she choked out.

Kanda wriggled uncomfortably under his covers. He didn't mean to bring up a sensitive issue. Attempting to change the subject, he said, "I'll learn how to make tea when I'm better."

At this, Lenalee burst into tears and hugged him. Gasping in surprise and alarm, he froze. "K-Kanda, I–" she sobbed into his shoulder. Kanda had no idea what to do, so he settled for awkwardly patting her on the back a few times.

She sniffled a few more time before releasing her hold. "Sorry," she apologized, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "I cry a lot in front of you, don't I?" she laughed ruefully. "You remind me of my brother sometimes."

Unsure of how to respond, Kanda just stared at her blankly. Lenalee smiled and clasped his freezing hand in her own warm ones. "Thanks, Kanda. For being my friend." She let go of his hand and headed for his door.

Kanda watched her put her hand on the knob, somehow managing to open the door without inciting the customary creak from its hinges. Funny how she could make it seem like he was the one doing her a favour when she had been the one to help him. He should say something, something more…

"Oh, and I like your new wall colours! They don't really suit you, but they're really bright and cheerful! Like your mentor! Bye Kanda!" Lenalee closed the door behind her, leaving Kanda alone to fume.

Never mind. She was still an annoying little girl. But even so… it wasn't so bad having her around.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

If you have any situations/scenarios you would like to read from Kanda and Lenalee's past, go right on ahead and suggest them to me =) I'll try to write it if the idea speaks to me =D Oh, this doesn't mean I'm out of ideas, not by a long shot! I just want to hear what you guys think.


	4. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

"_Lenalee! Lenalee, where are you?" A voice hoarse from yelling calls out desperately. "Lenalee!" Flames roar in defiance, drowning out the voice. They claw madly at the gray skies, sending up columns of thick, black smoke that snaked into the skies and made it even grayer._

"_Brother! I'm here! Brother! Brother!" Lenalee cries out, waving her arms frantically. Komui doesn't hear her. She watches as he turns away from her and haphazardly tosses aside the flaming wreckage of their house._

"_Lenalee!"He shouts down at the ruins, throwing a slab of ceiling plaster over his shoulder with inhuman strength – right in her direction._

_Lenalee screams and shields her face, only for the debris to fly right through her. It explodes behind her and showers her with dust._

_Komui is still calling out for her frantically, digging himself deeper and deeper into the rubble as the flames crackle maniacally and surround him._

"_Brother!" Lenalee shouts. She tries to run after him but can't; her legs weigh a thousand tons. Her Dark Boots slowly sink into the ground, dragging her along with them. She rips her feet out of them just as the quicksand-like terrain sucks them up. Choking from the smoky air, she drags herself to her feet. "Brother! I'm coming!" She runs towards him, arm outstretched._

_Something is wrong. Instead of moving closer to him, each step she takes brings her farther and farther away. She pushes her muscles to their limits, yet her efforts seem to yield the opposite effect: the distance between the siblings increases exponentially, as if Lenalee was running backwards faster and faster. "BROTHER!" she screams as he becomes smaller and smaller, shrinking to the size of a speck of dust on the horizon… Then he's gone. No one is calling her name._

"_Brother…" Lenalee sobs despondently, sinking to her knees on the ash-covered ground. The landscape is desolate. Not even the wreckage of their house remains, no flames, nothing. Just dunes upon dunes of gray ash. _

_A pair of boots dance across her vision, quite literally. They come to a rest in front of her pathetic form. "D-Dark Boots?" she chokes out. She is desperate. "Can you take me to my brother?"_

_In response, they step closer. Lenalee reaches for them blindly and closes her hand on the laced front._

_Something is wrong. Dark Boots don't have laces. She blinks her tears away, refraining from rubbing her eyes with her soot-covered hands. The boots have changed. They are no longer the Dark Boots. Rather, she is looking at a pair of polished, military-style, shin-high boots. They are perfectly spotless, treading through the ash as if the ash was water._

_Lenalee recognizes these boots, she knows them well. She trembles and lowers her gaze. "Please, I—" _

_One of the boots kicks her in the stomach, hard, stopping her mid-sentence. She wheezes for air, hand clutching her chest. "No, please don't—AHH!" She screams as a cruel hand lifts her up from the ground by a pigtail._

"_You can't run away, Lenalee Lee. You can never run away. Never run away." A man's grating voice booms right next to her ear. She squeezes her eyes shut, terrified of what she knew she would see._

_An inexplicable power forces them open. A white, gloved hand points into the distance at the rolling landscape of ash. "There is nothing for you out there. You have nothing. You have no one."_

"_No…" she whimpers. "I have my brother…" But she sounds unsure._

_The voice laughs in her ear. "You mean him?"_

_Komui and the burning wreckage have returned. Back turned to her, he is still frantically digging through the rubble, but no sound escapes his mouth. She wants to shout out to him, reassure him, but finds that her own vocal chords have been silenced as well. She impulsively moves towards him, but the hand yanks her back._

_The voice repeats, "You mean him?" and points again._

_Komui suddenly stops digging. And slowly turns around._

_Lenalee screams._

_He has no face._

"_Who is he?"_

"_He's…" Lenalee suddenly cannot remember. She wracks her brains desperately, trying to conjure up an image of him._

_The flames have engulfed his entire body – only a charred silhouette remains. The front of his head where the face should have been starts to melt. The flesh begins peeling off and dropping into the embers below, sizzling like the sound of meat on a grill before vaporizing._

_The voice interrupts her horrific enthralment with the mutilated flesh of the man who had once been… who? "Someone is looking for you. Is this him?"_

_The flesh falls off in clumps now, new flesh of a slightly darker colour taking its place, flames still licking at its edges, but not disfiguring it in any way. It arranges itself into facial features, a square jaw, hollow cheeks, harsh lines, and a stern countenance. Narrowed eyes, accompanied by a deep set frown. Thin, arched eyebrows appear, along with a thick, brush moustache right under the nose._

"_Yes. This is the one looking for you." The voice thunders, drowning out Lenalee's weak mental protests._

"_Lenalee Lee. Come!" Leverrier reaches for her, his gloved hand extending closer and closer… Until it covers her face completely, blinding her and stopping her breathing. She struggles against it, pulling at it with both hands, but her efforts weaken as her oxygen supply dwindles._

_Her world disappears into the blackness._

* * *

Lenalee sat bolt upright before keeling over off the side of her bed, taking her blanket with her. She took in massive gulps of air while collapsed on the floor, feeling her lungs inflate and deflate rapidly. She put a hand on her chest; her heart raced like never before, pounding out an erratic rhythm in her mind. Her gasping for air turned into choking, and she reached out blindly for the glass of water on her nightstand. Her fingers fumbled and the glass tipped over, spilling the water and rolling off the nightstand.

Crash! The glass shattered. In her panicked state of mind, Lenalee tried to sweep up the broken shards with her fingers. They swiped at her fingers violently, creating a number of small gashes. She yelped and withdrew her digits, putting them in her mouth to soothe the pain. The sticky, metallic taste of blood coated her tongue. She took out her bleeding fingers and gathered up her blanket.

She couldn't tell where the glass shards were. Her window usually afforded a bare minimum of moonlight into her room – not that it mattered tonight, the night of new moon. Not even the stars were on her side tonight. Rather than twinkling brightly as usual, they emitted a pale, hazy light instead, not brilliant enough to penetrate her window.

A howling wind still raged outside, the remnants of the evening's storm. The howls varied from low moans to high-pitched shrieks, filling Lenalee's ears with a cacophony of pain and horror.

Her bed seemed cold and unfriendly. Her pillow would be soaked in sweat, as it always was after a particularly bad nightmare like this one. She hugged her blanket tightly, squeezing her eyes closed.

The image of melting flesh morphing into Leverrier's face flashed to the front of her mind again. She snapped her eyes open again, her breathing shallow. She couldn't stay here; she needed to get out of this room.

Abandoning her blanket on the floor, she stumbled to her door and flung it open, throwing herself to the mercy of the dark and dank halls of the Black Order. She shivered and looked back. Her door had swung closed by itself. Where would she go? Anywhere but here.

She wrapped her arms around herself and started walking. Her pattering footsteps echoed in the open space of the living quarters. She focused on her cold, bare feet as they brought her closer to her subconscious destination.

Step. Step. Step.

A face.

Step.

Not her brother.

Stumble. Step.

Flesh melting.

Step, step, step.

A new face.

Run, run, run –

LEVERRIER.

She screamed, dropping to the ground. She curled up into a ball and clutched her head between her hands.

The door she had stopped in front of flew open. "Hey, HEY!" A pair of arms grabbed her and dragged her into the room. "You'll wake everyone up!" It was Kanda's voice. So that's where her feet had brought her. He spoke admonishingly, but she didn't hear him. All she could feel were his arms sort of around her, half-carrying her into his room.

She flung her arms around him, ignoring his gasp when she buried her face into his chest. Her sudden movement caused them both to crash onto the ground, Kanda landing hard on his back, Lenalee falling on top of him. She sobbed uncontrollably, trying to focus on his warmth and nothing else, clenching her fists in the fabric of his nightshirt. Kanda struggled to a sitting position without pushing her off.

After her sobbing had abated a bit, he awkwardly patted her head, fingers catching between strands of hair.

Kanda was absolutely lost. Lenalee had cried before, but never like this. He had been jolted out of bed by her scream and had flung open his door to find her convulsing on the ground as if in pain. His first instinct was to bring her into his room before anyone else who had been awakened came running.

Now he sat in an uneasy silence, with her sprawled across his lap, arms wrapped around him. He continued patting her head – it seemed to calm her down. They sat on the cold floor of his room for what seemed like hours. Lenalee's sobs still punctuated the air, but at least she could breathe now.

Kanda's legs were numb by the time her sobs finally subsided into shaky breaths. Her arms loosened around him and her hands released the back of his shirt. Kanda stopped patting her head and gently rolled her over onto her back. She was asleep, her energy completely spent.

Kanda sighed. He eased one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees, carefully lifting her onto his bed. Whatever had terrified her so much could wait until she was ready to talk about it. He knew how bad nightmares could get, having woken up in a cold sweat many times before. He still did, which is why he wore himself out training and on missions so he could sink into dreamless sleep every night.

He hesitantly wiped the sweat off her forehead with his sleeve, dragging it across her tense brow. It relaxed a bit at his touch. He reached down by the foot of the bed and covered her with his blankets.

With a stifled yawn, Kanda walked over to his open wardrobe and pulled out his extra blankets. He arranged them on the cold, hard floor, intending to use his arm as a pillow.

Before he settled down for an uncomfortable sleep, he checked on Lenalee again. Her breathing was still fast and shallow and she was covered in a sheen of sweat again. He reached over once more to wipe her brow when her hand suddenly shot out from beneath the covers and grabbed his hand.

Her eyes opened. "Please stay," she whispered. Kanda just stood there. "Please Kanda, stay with me," she repeated more urgently.

"Okay," he whispered back. "Shh." Her hand slowly released his and fell back onto the bed. Kanda felt something wet on his fingers and he raised them closer to his face. Was that… blood? It definitely wasn't his blood, so that meant…

He leaned down and picked up Lenalee's hand again, finding several small cuts that hadn't closed completely.

Lenalee's eyes blinked open. "What are you doing?" she mumbled sleepily.

"You're bleeding. Just go to sleep," Kanda muttered back.

She complied immediately, eyes closing once more. Kanda let go of her hand and went to his medical cabinet. Band-Aids, Band-Aids… He couldn't find any. Well, he didn't expect to. Small cuts healed instantly on him, so it made sense that no one had restocked his med kit with Band-Aids. So he grabbed the next best thing: bandages. Bringing a roll of bandages and a pair of scissors back to the bed, he taped up Lenalee's fingers for her, carefully picking out a few tiny glass fragments that were still in the cuts. Once he was done with one hand, he went over to the other side of the bed and eased her other arm out from the covers. Just as he suspected, there were cuts on her other hand too.

"You tried to clean up broken glass in this darkness? That's stupid," he whispered to her sleeping form. Finishing his bandaging, he slid her arm back under the covers. He picked up the rest of the roll and the scissors and put them back into his cabinet. Upon returning to the bed, Lenalee had drowsily opened her eyes again.

"Stop waking up. Go to sleep," he whispered.

"I will if you will," came her sleepy reply. Her newly bandaged hand reached out for him.

"Okay, okay," he grumbled, pushing the hand back under the covers as he slid into bed beside her. He shifted far enough so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable, but close enough so she would know he was there. "Now go to sleep."

No reply. Kanda glanced over. She was finally asleep, brows relaxed and breathing somewhat more evenly. He sighed again and flipped over onto his other side, eyes blinking once, twice, then settling shut.

Sleep claimed both of them. Outside, a new wind, a night breeze, whistled by Kanda's cracked window, whispering, s_weet dreams…_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Unrelated to the story: WHOA, Chapter 199 is out! I won't spoil anything here, but let's just say I've got a bit of thinking and re-evaluating to do regarding Kanda's past and internal conflict... Try to drop off a review before rushing off to a manga reader? =D


	5. Fairy Tales

**Fairy Tales**

A girl and a boy stood sandwiched between two towering shelves of the library. The girl ran her finger critically over the spines of the books in front of her while the boy stood behind her, silently scowling. It was quiet that day, quieter than usual. The occasional scratching of a pen or rustle of a page turning was all that broke the silence.

"Why am I here?" Kanda growled, tapping his foot impatiently.

Without taking her eyes off the books, Lenalee replied, "To help me find a book. Hmm…" She bent down to examine the lower shelves.

"Che. How am I supposed to help if I don't even know what you're looking for?" he interrupted her concentration.

"Kanda! Just stand there until I find it, 'kay?" Lenalee was on her stomach now, searching the very bottom shelf.

Kanda crossed his arms. "If you don't need my help I'll just go— Hey!"

Lenalee grabbed his arm and yanked him down to her level. "Found it!" she exclaimed gleefully. "I've been meaning to read these for a while." She held up the dusty volume. Clearly, it hadn't been read in a long time.

Kanda swiped the dust off the cover. "Collection of Fairy Tales? What are those?"

Lenalee smiled at him. "We'll read them and find out?"

"Che. Fine." He had nothing better to do right now anyway. With a sigh, he sat down next to her cross-legged.

Lenalee opened the book on her lap, fanning away the clouds of dust with her hand. "Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Once upon a time, there was a little girl with golden locks…" she fell silent at this point, continuing to read in her head.

Kanda propped up his head on his hand and half-closed his eyes, reading along beside her.

_Goldilocks tasted the smallest bowl of porridge. 'Just right!' she exclaimed. And she ate it all up._

So the girl broke into a random house, used their furniture, ate their food, and then had the nerve to just fall asleep in a bed. Che. Brat.

_And Goldilocks escaped from the three angry bears and ran out of the house. She never came back to the forest again. The End._

Kanda looked nonplussed. "That's it?"

Lenalee glanced up at him and grinned. "Yep. It's a cute story, isn't it?"

"No, it's dull and pointless. She forced herself into their house and stole their food. And got away unpunished."

"Well, it's just a story."

"Che."

Lenalee smiled impishly. "Maybe you just don't like it because that's what Exorcists do sometimes?"

"What?"

"I've heard stories from the Finders about how all Exorcists have to do is show their Rose Crosses and they get free transportation, boarding, and food. Gee, that sounds like—"

"It's different. She's not fighting evil forces."

"And how would you know?"

"I…" He was lost for words.

"Ha!" Lenalee cried triumphantly. "Besides, if she didn't have some sort of special power, how do you think a normal little girl could escape from three angry bears?"

Kanda opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to come up with a retort. "Che. It's just a story," he muttered.

Having won her point, Lenalee giggled and turned the page. "Ah, Hansel and Gretel! Oh, I've heard of this one before, but I don't know the details." She nudged Kanda playfully. "It's another story of breaking and entering and eating."

Kanda chose not to reply, instead reaching over to smooth down the page. "Shut up and read," he grumbled.

_Hansel broke off a piece of the wall. 'This is chocolate!' Gretel licked a windowsill. 'And this is icing!'_

"Wow, a house made of candy! That's amazing, isn't it, Kanda?" Lenalee was starry-eyed as she pictured the house in mind's-eye.

"No, it's disgusting. I can only imagine somebody like old man Tiedoll building something like that," Kanda scoffed.

"I wonder who did build this house though," Lenalee mused, reading on.

'_And now that I've fattened you up, I'll throw you into the oven to bake! Girl, push your brother into the oven!' the witch cackled. 'I can't tell if it's hot enough,' Gretel whimpered. Angrily, the witched shoved her back and screamed, 'Useless child! I'll check it myself!' But as the witch bent down to peer inside the open oven, Gretel gave her an almighty push and slammed the door closed, trapping the witch inside._

Lenalee wasn't sure she liked the diabolical smirk on Kanda's face during this part. "Umm, Kanda?"

"What?" Kanda's smirk slipped back into his usual scowl. Darn, she interrupted his daydream about roasting Tiedoll. _'Yuu-kun, Yuu-kun, how could you do this to your own father! But mmm, I smell like freshly baked cookies.'_ Ugh, no use. Tiedoll was annoying, even when trapped in an oven.

_Hansel and Gretel rushed back home to their bereaved father, and they lived happily every after._

"That was more sickeningly sweet than that gingerbread house." Kanda felt like gagging.

Lenalee laughed at his expression before responding, "But it's nice that they got reunite with their father again." She flipped the page to the next story. She read the title aloud, "Jack and the Beanstalk."

'_You sold the cow for a handful of beans? Stupid fool! You dolt!'_

"She's so mean!" Lenalee huffed.

"She has reason to be. A cow for beans? Ridiculous." Kanda shook his head.

"But they're magic beans!" Lenalee insisted. "What if… what if the beans were Innocence?" she proclaimed dramatically, pointing at the picture of the giant beanstalk on the next page.

"Che. There's no such thing as massive magical plants that fight Akuma."

"You'll never know!"

"Yeah, right. The day you find a giant, Akuma-fighting plant will be the day I willingly model for one of Tiedoll's paintings."

"Okay! I'll hold you to your word on that one!"

'_Fee-fi-fo-fum!' the giant roared as it thundered down the beanstalk after the quickly retreating boy, golden goose tucked securely under his arm. Jack leapt to the bottom, handing the goose to his startled mother and grabbing an axe. Wildly, he began hacking away at the beanstalk, the giant descending ever closer._

"Che, pathetic," Kanda scoffed. "I would have sliced that beanstalk in half with one stroke."

"I'm sure you would have," Lenalee giggled, about to turn the page.

"I'm leaving. I'm tired of these European fairy tales? Pah, they're just dumb stories written by dumb grown-ups." Kanda stood up to leave.

"No, wait!" Lenalee grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back down. "How about I tell you a story from China instead?"

Sighing in defeat, Kanda sat back down across from her. "Okay fine. Make it short."

Lenalee smiled brightly and put the book of European tales back in the shelf before settling back down. "My brother told me this one. It's called the Three Little Rabbits."

"Rabbits?" Kanda raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, rabbits, now shush. Once upon a time, Big Brother rabbit went to the market and left his three baby sister rabbits back at home. He warned them not to open the door for anyone except him. He would sing a special song for them, and that's how they would know it was him. He sang it then, but he didn't know there was an evil wolf listening in on them. He said, 'Bye you three, be good!' and left for the market."

Kanda interrupted, "Why didn't the wolf just eat the Big Brother rabbit when he left the house?"

Lenalee frowned and whapped him on the shoulder. "Because that would ruin the story, of course. And Big Brother rabbit is too big and strong for a wolf to eat anyway. The wolf would get beaten up if he tried."

Kanda looked sceptical, but sat silently, waiting for her to continue.

"So an hour after Big Brother rabbit left, the wolf snuck out of his hiding place and sang to the little rabbits: _Xiao tu zi guai guai, ba mer kai kai, kuai dian kai kai, wo yao jing lai._ But the—"

"And the song means?" Kanda cut in.

Lenalee gave a start. "Oh right! It basically translates to: 'Good little rabbits, open up the door. Open it quickly, I want to come in." She paused and wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't sound nearly as good in English." Kanda privately agreed.

Lenalee continued, "But the little rabbits noticed that something was wrong. That wasn't their brother's clear, soothing voice, no. It sounded scratchy and growly. That could only mean it wasn't Big Brother! In response, the little rabbits sang back: _Bu kai, bu kai, wo bu kai! Ge ge mei hui lai!' _Won't open it, won't open it, we won't open it! Big Brother hasn't come home! The wolf tried to break down the door, but it wouldn't budge. Frustrated and exhausted, he went home and left the rabbit family alone. Later, Big Brother finally came home! He sang softly: _Xiao tu zi guai guai—_"

Lenalee broke off, and grabbed Kanda's hand. "Come on, sing it with me!"

Kanda remained stony faced. "No."

"Please?"

"No. I don't sing."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

Lenalee pouted and gave him her best puppy dog face, but his lips stayed firmly sealed.

"Oh, alright fine." Lenalee took a breath and finished the song.

"_Xiao tu zi guai guai, ba mer kai kai, kuai dian kai kai, wo yao jing lai._ Recognizing his voice, the little rabbits all rushed to the door. 'It's Big Brother!' they cried, and flung open the door. Happy to see them all safe, he hugged them all and gave them each a fresh carrot. The end!"

The sound of applause. Lenalee looked up at Kanda, only to see that he looked just as confused as she was. He hadn't been the one who had clapped. The sound had come from behind the shelf. Resting two fingers on Mugen's hilt, he cautiously peered through an empty section on the shelf. He saw a glint of thin metal (was that a glasses' frame?) that was quickly replaced by a smiling mouth. Before he could react, the mouth opened and yelled, "Yuu-kun!"

"Gah!" Kanda flew backwards and slammed into the shelf behind him. A heavy book toppled off the top and dropped down on his head with a loud thunk, so hard that he fell down. Sprawled on the ground, he saw through a haze of winking stars that the book was called "Newton's Theory of Gravity – Practical Uses." His head throbbing, he groaned. The Fates must be laughing at him. Well, if not the Fates, somebody certainly was. He rolled over onto his back and saw two faces hovering above him, one expressing concern, the other, mirth.

"Kanda! Are you okay?" Lenalee said worriedly, head tilted to the side.

"Oh ho ho ho, Theory of Gravity, that's just… too funny!" Tiedoll guffawed, wiping a tear from his eye.

Kanda staggered to his feet, growling, "Shut it, old man. I swear I'll stab you this time—" He whipped Mugen out of his sheath and directed it at the three Tiedolls in front of him. Wait, three? Ugh, that book had hit him harder than he had thought.

"Okay, okay, Yuu-kun, let's take that energy of yours outside, shall we? I've got a surprise for you!" Tiedoll pointed at a lumpy, brown package that was leaning against his leg that Kanda hadn't noticed until now. "Better put Mugen away, it's fairly delicate," Tiedoll advised, brashly reaching out and pushing down Mugen's extended blade.

"Che. Forget it, old man, I'm not coming with you."

"Oh, come now Yuu-kun, aren't you the least bit curious what's inside my surprise?"

"No."

"But I am!" Lenalee piped up. "Come on Kanda, don't be such a spoilsport!" she encouraged.

Kanda glared even harder and sheathed Mugen. "I'm going to meditate. She'll go with you if you're so eager." He jerked his thumb at Lenalee and stormed away, only to bump into Noise Marie.

"Marie! What are you doing here?" Kanda grumbled, rubbing his head.

Marie smiled down at him kindly. "I want to be here for Tiedoll's grand unveiling, which he says he'll only do outside with you present."

"Yuu-kun, I made it with my own two hands, you know!" Tiedoll added.

Marie clapped his hands twice. "It's settled, we're going outside." He clamped one of his hands firmly around Kanda's left wrist and tugged.

"Hey!" Kanda protested, struggling violently to pull away. He felt a much smaller hand latch onto his right hand. "What—" He whipped around to see Lenalee.

She beamed at him and chirped, "Let's go, okay? It'll be fun!" Without waiting for a reply, she joined Marie in his quest to drag the reluctant Kanda outside.

Tiedoll watched the three youngsters go, a satisfied smile on his face. Before Kanda disappeared through the doorway, he called back, "This had better be good, old man."

Tiedoll laughed and picked up his bulky package, hurrying after them as best as he could. "You won't be disappointed, Yuu-kun!"

* * *

**Author's Note**:

A reader suggested I write something on the lighter side to mix it up a bit. So I did. Or tried to, at least. You guys have no idea how many times I had to stop, delete, and rewrite because my dark side kept invading. XD It's not as polished as I hoped it would be, but in the end, well, this ended up being the final product. On a side note:

Whoa, 750 hits, 13 story alerts, 15 favourites, and 35 reviews, just for four chapters! You guys are amazing. Thanks for your support! =D

~D.S.


	6. Learn to Fly

**Author's Note: **A thousand apologies for my long absence. I was kidnapped by the fiend we all know as Real Life. I've been trying to finish this chapter bit by bit during my rare pockets of spare time over the past month, and it's finally done. Whew. Enough talk, onwards!

**Learn to Fly**

_Recap: Lenalee and Kanda were in the library reading fairy tales when Tiedoll came in, carrying a large, mysterious package. Eager for Tiedoll to unveil the surprise, Marie and Lenalee chivvy a begrudging Kanda outside._

…:::…:::…:::…

Kanda squinted up at the bright sunlight. A lone bird circled high above, faintly trilling two notes. A bluebird perhaps? No, there weren't any of those in this area. It was a rather blustery day and the wind was teasing him, flipping his bangs up or pushing them to the side depending on its playful mood.

He scowled and sat down, making sure his ever-present Mugen was sheathed securely at his side. One could never be too careful around Tiedoll… this whole 'surprise' business might just be a convoluted ruse to steal Mugen and coerce him into doing something. His mind flitted back to the times Tiedoll had kidnapped (swordnapped?) Mugen to force him to stay in that dreadful hospital wing or accompany him on random errands.

His suspicious musings were interrupted when Lenalee sat down beside him with a light thump, sending a few dandelion seeds helicoptering away, freed from their brethren.

"The General has been tearing off that brown wrapping paper for ages! He won't let anyone else help, he says that we might rip what's inside." She pouted. "'Unwrapping takes a careful artist's touch!'" she mimicked, trying to lower her voice to match Tiedoll's pitch. Sighing, she picked a dandelion, twirling it with her fingers.

Kanda shrugged indifferently, but glanced to the other side of the clearing. Sure enough, Tiedoll was meticulously removing layer after layer of brown wrapping paper, the kind he used to wrap his paintings with. After removing one sheet, he would fold it into near perfect fourths and stack it onto the growing pile beside his knees. Marie stood by, arms held stiffly at his sides. Kanda could tell by the slight twitch of his eyebrows that he had similarly been rebuked by the General for trying to help. Kanda mentally gave a derisive chuckle. Oh, he'd like to 'help' too, alright… He fingered Mugen's hilt.

"I can be careful when I try to be…" Lenalee insisted, twirling the dandelion faster and faster. It slipped and flew out of her grasp. "Whoops!" She reached down to pick it back up, but it had lost half its puffy head of seeds. "Ah well." She blew out the rest of the wispy seeds and dropped the empty stalk on the ground.

She picked another. "Say Kanda, what would you wish for if dandelion wishes actually did come true?"

"Why would I want to wish on a half-dead weed?"

"Well, people say that if you wish on a dandelion and blow off all the seeds in one breath, your wish will come true."

Kanda frowned. Was this another one of those silly western customs that she had picked up from the Finders? He wasn't surprised, considering that Lenalee came away from those conversations the most ludicrous stories about mutant rabbits who delivered eggs and tiny human-like creatures with wings (miniature Akuma, most likely) who would replace your teeth with money. Kanda had responded that he slept with Mugen within arm's reach for a reason.

_What I would wish for…_ He stared at the dandelion twirling in Lenalee's dexterous grip. A dandelion… is more than a just a weed, isn't it? It's a flower too.

_Flash! _

Kanda's vision went black for the briefest moment, and when he looked again, Lenalee was not holding a dandelion anymore, but a lotus blossom. Vibrant pink, its center magenta… Its petals quivered in the light breeze, held together very delicately at the stem. Kanda gaped open mouthed at the flower between Lenalee's fingers.

"Kanda?" Lenalee called out hesitantly. He was staring at the dandelion in her hand with an intensity that could have lit it aflame with his gaze alone.

Kanda snapped back to reality, blinking twice. Lenalee was holding a dandelion once again. She was scrutinizing his face, his eyes, with a rather worried expression.

"Are you okay? You just… spaced out," Lenalee said.

"It's nothing," Kanda muttered. Hastily, before she could ask anything more, he responded, "I don't believe in this wishing on weeds nonsense."

After a moment's hesitation, Lenalee said softly, "Neither do I."

Kanda raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly. The girl with shining eyes who told him stories about things as wildly imaginative as mutant bunnies and fairy creatures didn't believe in a wishing on dandelions?

Lenalee stared at the dandelion she was holding. Now unpleasant memories of her first year at the Black Order began rushing back.

"_Really? All I have to do is blow them all out and my wish will come true?"_

"_I wish my brother would come and take me away from here!"_

She would blow with all her might, and watch the seeds fly off into the distance, carried by the wind. She decided that the seeds could guide him, floating towards the direction her brother was right now, headed towards her. She collected the stalks of the dandelions and took them back to her room, pocketfuls at a time. She arranged them neatly on her windowsill. When her brother came to get her, she'd show him her hard work, and he would smile and pick her up, swinging her in circles to show how much he appreciated her dedication.

"_I wish my brother would come and take me away!"_

"_I wish my brother would come visit me… please?"_

"_I wish I could see my brother again, just once?"_

A few days after that, hundreds of dandelion stalks rained down from a bedroom window.

"_I wish I—"_

Desperately shutting out her thoughts, Lenalee drew her arm back to hurl the dandelion as far away as possible. As fast as lightning, a hand shot up and caught hers. Her eyes flew open and her grip grew limp as fingers deftly pried hers apart.

"Kanda?"

He took the dandelion from her. "One breath, right?" Before she could say anything, he blew out all the seeds, almost effortlessly. As the small cloud of seeds drifted into the air, he tossed the stalk over his shoulder nonchalantly. "There."

Lenalee quickly swiped her sleeve over her eyes. Curiosity rising to the forefront of her mind, she asked, "What did you wish for?"

"Can't tell or it won't come true, right?" he grunted, turning his head away from her and yawning.

His comment managed to crack a small smile on her face.

"MY CHILDREN! The finishing touches are done!" Tiedoll yelled from across the clearing, waving his arms enthusiastically.

"Oh wow!" Lenalee's exclamation drowned out Kanda's standard retort of "I'm not your son!" She jumped to her feet and ran over to where Tiedoll was standing proudly over his unveiled and assembled project.

It was a magnificent red and gold Chinese dragon, made of stiff paper and cloth, its segments joined together with string. Its decorations were elaborately detailed, from the smokey paint strokes above the muzzle to the shimmering scaled pattern on its tail.

"It's beautiful!" Lenalee marvelled.

"Isn't it?" Tiedoll beamed. "I've been working for weeks on this, ever since I saw it in a storefront on my way back from my last mission in China. I thought you kids might like it."

"Che. This is a waste of my time."

Tiedoll clapped both hands over his heart dramatically. "Yuu-kun! Why must you hurt your father's artistic feelings so! So painful!"

Ignoring the sobbing man next to him, Kanda continued, "And why did you have to drag us outside for this thing?"

He twitched slightly as Tiedoll shot up, nearly knocking over Marie, who had been patting his back comfortingly. All signs of mock sadness evaporated in an instant. "Ah ha! I'm glad you asked, my boy! The reason we're outside is…" he let his voice trail off mysteriously. Eyes shining with boyish pride and excitement, he finished, "So it can fly!" With that, he threw up his hands into the air, narrowly missing Marie's face.

Marie stumbled back a bit, lucky to have escaped a hit and sighed. "No more sugar in your coffee for you, General."

"This can fly?" Kanda asked, prodding the loopily-grinning dragon none too gently with his sheathed Mugen.

"Careful with your sword, Yuu-kun!" Tiedoll hurried forward and stood protectively between his project and his pupil. "Yes, it can fly! Because it's a kite!" With that, he carefully flipped the dragon onto its stomach, revealing a network of string and lace.

His second dramatic unveiling of the day was met by two silences: one awestruck, one unimpressed. There was a comical contrast between the starry-eyed Lenalee, whose mouth was hanging open in awe, previous thoughts banished from her mind and the unabsorbed Kanda, who was fiddling with Mugen's sheath strap at his hip.

"Here's the plan!" Tiedoll announced grandly. "Since this kite is so big, we'll need a bit of a running start to get it up. Yuu-kun and Lenalee, you two will hold the kite and run!" Tiedoll tested the wind and pointed. "That way! Marie, you'll hold the end of the string. Unfortunately, I went a little overboard on the length of the dragon's body, so there's not much line left, but you'll improvise." Tiedoll sent Marie a knowing wink that left the receiver nonplussed.

Each grabbing one side of the dragon's handsomely carved mane, Kanda and Lenalee exchanged glances before taking off at Tiedoll's signal. Even though Kanda was two years older than Lenalee, he didn't have much of a height advantage (which irked him to no end). Coupled with the fact that Lenalee was a natural runner, he really didn't have to slow down at all for her. Rather, fuelled by her cheeky smile that boasted a challenge, he increased his pace.

He smirked. Ha, that sure wiped the challenging grin off her face. Striving to keep her grip on the kite high above her head, Lenalee pumped her legs faster to keep up. The two of them raced down a small hill, heedless of Tiedoll's cries for them to slow down. The General was a mile away, as was the rest of the world. All they could feel was the wind in their faces, the massive kite tugging at their arms as it threatened to rise into the skies.

This was a new feeling. Yes, adrenaline was rushing through his system, but there none of the tension that came with battle. The wind was coming at him so hard he could barely see, but that didn't stop him from barrelling through the grass. Kanda felt a twinge of something long forgotten, something he hadn't truly experienced in years. What was this feeling? Exhilaration. There! He'd named it; he nearly smiled. Nearly. His true smile, he knew, had been locked away with his memories of Alma, but it didn't matter. This was more than enough.

From under his outstretched arms, Kanda glanced at Lenalee. Her cheeks flushed radiantly with colour and she was panting slightly, but that didn't stop her from flashing him a radiant smile. There was no need for words. With a simultaneous leap into the air, the two of them sent the kite skywards. The rest would be left to Marie's capable hands now. They collapsed on the ground, Kanda breathing a bit more heavily than normal, Lenalee caught between fits of panting and laughter.

Sprawled out on the grass, she turned her head and caught Kanda's eye. He smirked triumphantly, the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen on his face.

He pointed upwards. "Look, it's rising." Sure enough, the majestic dragon was slowly ascending into the sky. Awestruck, Lenalee drunk in the sight, letting her eyes roam from its muzzle to its tail and beyond, to where Marie was commandeering the mystical beast with nothing but his fingers. Wait, what? Lenalee rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "I thought you needed string to control a kite?"

"You do," Kanda replied.

"So is Marie using magic?"

"What?" Kanda sat up and peered into the distance. Instead of holding a string, Marie was waving his hands about, like a conductor of an invisible orchestra.

"Unbelievable, he's using his Innocence!" Even the normally stoic Kanda felt a flicker of amazement at his fellow apprentice for using his Innocence so delicately outside of battle.

"Hmm, he's still got a ways to go, but this is definitely an improvement." A gruff, yet friendly voice appeared behind them.

Kanda whipped his head around. "Old man, when did you get here?"

Tiedoll chuckled, raising both his hands. "No need to be so welcoming, Yuu-kun. Marie-kun's Noel Organon needed some 'fine-tuning', as he put it, so I modified my kite for him."

"You'd do that for your student?" Lenalee looked at him, wide-eyed.

A warm, paternal hand descended on her head and patted it. "Of course. I'd do anything for my sons. Sometimes, when it comes to learning new techniques, an innovative training method can easily accomplish in a few weeks what would take months of traditional training. I'm not saying that hard work isn't necessary, oh no, no, on the contrary! But it's not all about sweat and blood all the time, okay kids?" His eyes twinkled behind his glasses. In the distance, the dragon took a swift nosedive. "Ah! Marie! Careful with my beautiful creation!" The artist took off like a shot.

With a barely hidden amusement, Kanda watched his mentor run up the hill, arms flailing.

"Do you think I'll be able to fly up there one day?"

Kanda shifted his attention to Lenalee, who was lying down on the grass and pointing skywards, at the dragon. Sure, it was swooping around a bit awkwardly, but flying nonetheless.

She went on, "It's supposed to be one of Dark Boots' primary abilities. Even I realized it the first times my synchro didn't go half badly. I… felt it." She struggled to find the words to describe the vague understanding she had reached with her Innocence a few months ago before Leverrier over-intensified her training regime and pushed her past her limit.

"Shouldn't be too hard if it's just a primary ability. Even you could manage it," Kanda replied. Any other person may have taken offense at his caustic tone and condescending diction, but Lenalee knew that in his own awkward way, Kanda was encouraging her.

She managed a smile. "Thanks, Kanda."

He returned a light scoff. "Che."

…:::…:::…:::…

The wind was dying down, tired from its battle to keep the dragon aloft. Beyond the hill, Tiedoll was coaching Marie how to slowly, meticulously let down the kite. Not that the kite was losing much altitude. To the two pairs of eyes watching him from a distance, half of his theatrical arm movements seemed to be extraneous. Further evidence that his flourishes were useless was that it took over three times as long to get the kite down than it did to raise it. Kanda was fairly certain that the faltering wind was the main reason that the kite was descending, not Marie's efforts.

At long last, the kite came down, and was painstakingly disassembled and packed away by Tiedoll. The artist and senior pupil made their way over to the two children, voices growing louder as they approached.

"General, the descent would have been much faster if I had used both index fingers to direct the head of the dragon downwards rather than trying to dip its midsection," Marie said.

"No, no!" Tiedoll shook his head adamantly. "Then my beautiful creation would have nosedived!"

"I would have adjusted the tail for balance and had the kite circle downwards—"

"But Marie-kun! Then you—"

"Shut it, you paranoid old man!" Kanda cut into Tiedoll's interruption. "I'm tired of your blathering!"

"He means that he understands that your art is important to you, General, but to also have more faith in Marie," Lenalee timidly tried to explain for him.

"Che."

As they headed back to the headquarters, Tiedoll addressed Kanda, "So Yuu-kun, given any thought to a new training regime?"

As per usual, Kanda gave him a tart reply. "Yeah, old man, I have. Can you make me ten stuffed dummies of you? Make that twenty, actually, I won't have time to repair them."

* * *

**Author's Note**:

That dandelion scene wrote itself, I swear. A little pocket of darkness/angst in what was originally meant to be more cheerful fic. Ah well. I'll learn how to write light-hearted stories properly one day. =P

Life's still really busy, I probably won't be posting again until the end of December. =( Siiiigh... hope I haven't lost any readers during my extended absence. Well, thanks for reading! See you in the next chapter, and until then, see you in your reviews/my responses! XD

~D.S.


	7. Midnight Snack

**Midnight Snack**

Kanda sat cross-legged on his bed, leaning against the cold wall, feeling the brick pattern through his thin, white nightshirt. Sleep refused to claim him.

Perhaps it was the dead silence outside. And how it amplified his heartbeat under his tattoo. Perhaps it was the odd angle of the moonlight beaming through his window. And the way it eerily illuminated the single petal that had fallen to the bottom of his hourglass lotus.

Kanda breathed deeply and folded his hands on his lap. He closed his eyes. No use. He could still see the lotus, glowing even more brightly with nothing in the background to dull its colour. He snapped his eyes back open and let out his breath in a rush. Another sleepless night then. His aching body protested, but there was nothing he could do.

He continued sitting perfectly still, staring at the opposite wall, past his hourglass. How much time passed, he didn't know. An hour? Two hours? Or mere minutes? The unwavering silver moon gave him no indication. Another deep breath, and another, and then—

_Yuu._

It was spoken by the faintest voice, a tinkling like a shard of crystal held in the air for a fraction of a second before disintegrating into fine dust. He immediately stiffened, eyes whipping from one corner of the room to the other. No one. Nothing was there.

_Yuu._

Again, just one word whispered: his given name. And for once, the usual pang of annoyance at its use didn't come. His mouth snapped open, intending to shoot forth a "who's there!" but no sound came out, as if he was loathe to breach the fragile silence hanging between him and this unknown presence. Why though? Because the voice sounded… Kanda wracked his brain for the right descriptor. Comforting? Longing? Familiar, yet unfamiliar?

_Yuu._

Was he dreaming? He glanced down as his hands and examined the details of his ragged nails and the healing cut across his left palm. _Move._ He commanded the first and second fingers of his right hand. They obediently flexed.

Either a lucid dream or a half-awake experience, he mused.

_Yuu._

His door creaked open. A faint shadow flitted through the gap.

His forced calm snapped and his tense body sprang into action. He leaped out of bed, heedless of his stiff limbs and grabbed Mugen, purely out of reflex. _Wait!_ He mentally cried out at the entity who had seemingly slipped outside his room. Barefoot and dressed in his loose-fitting nightclothes, he dashed after the apparition.

Down the dark and silent halls he haphazardly ran, nightshirt flapping around his thin body. If he closed his eyes, he could hear her voice more clearly and see her better. There! She was disappearing around the corner! The freezing stone floor sent a jolt of pain up his feet with every step he took, but he was numb to it all.

_Yuu!_

The call became more desperate. Dragging frigid air into his burning lungs, Kanda skidded past corner after corner, hall after hall. He was a long way from the residential quarters now.

Then, between the cafeteria and lounge—

_Yuu—_

It cut off abruptly, whatever it was disappearing into thin air. "No wait," Kanda choked out, grasping at thin air. He stood stock still, taking in the dead silence. She was gone. She? How did he know that? Kanda frowned. No, he was quite sure. It was that woman who came and went with his darkest nightmares and most pleasant dreams… Wait, was he still dreaming then? Kanda stared down at his hands again and was about to unsheathe Mugen as the next part of his reality test when he heard a faint crunching sound from the kitchens. Mice? No, too loud to be mice.

Drawing Mugen fully, he lightly stepped over to the kitchen door and dropped into a crouch. He carefully put his ear to the door. A muffled chewing noise could be heard. What on earth—?

He gingerly pushed the unlocked door open to find—

"Lenalee!"

The girl in question gave a small scream which she quickly muffled with her hands. "Kanda? You scared the living daylights out of me! But thank god it's just you."

Nonplussed, Kanda asked, "What are you doing in here?"

"Midnight snack. I didn't have dinner today," she replied, taking another cookie out of the jar. An anxious expression crossed her face. "You won't tell anyone I'm here, right?"

"'Course not." He grunted, sliding Mugen back into its sheath. He sank to the ground beside her, controlling his breathing so he wouldn't sound like he has just ran halfway across the Black Order.

Finishing her eighth cookie, Lenalee ventured a question. "So what brings you here at this time of night?"

Kanda didn't reply, merely giving a slight shrug.

He was paler than usual, she noted. His hands seemed rather clammy and he was breathing too hard. "A nightmare?"

Kanda gave a start. "No, I… wouldn't call it that." He stopped.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Lenalee smiled, but didn't press him farther. He would tell her when he was ready. If he was ever ready.

"Cookie?" She offered.

"No. I don't understand how you can possibly eat those disgusting things."

Giving a giggle at his grimace, Lenalee placed one last cookie in her mouth before closing the jar, now half-full. Lightly humming, she stood up on tiptoe and returned it to the shelf. There, she spotted something that nearly made her eyes pop out of her head. She gasped, unable to believe her eyes. "Kanda," she breathed, hardly daring to believe it. "Look." She raised a trembling hand.

He cautiously shuffled closer to the kitchen shelving unit. "What?" he inquired, one hand tenuously on Mugen.

In a whisper that incorporated both glee and disbelief, Lenalee said, "Chocolate cake!"

Annoyed ticks appeared on Kanda's face. "Chocolate cake," he repeated in a flat tone.

"The chefs never make chocolate cake! Apparently cocoa powder is hard to come by these days." She bit her lip. "You don't think they'd notice if I took some, would they? I mean, someone's already taken a piece." She pointed at the neatly-cut wedge missing.

"Che."

Lenalee interpreted that as "No, they're too thick-headed to notice." She beamed at him before reaching out her hand to break off a small piece.

Her hand a mere two inches away from the cake, Kanda put up his hand. "Wait. They'll notice if you just take a chunk off like that."

Her smile dropped off her face. "But I don't have anything to cut it with," she lamented.

Sigh. "Move aside," he ordered, drawing Mugen. Lenalee opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off, "Don't worry, it's clean. I polished it earlier today."

She pouted. "I was going to ask you if you were sure you wanted to use your precious sword for such a little problem."

"Don't care," he grunted, neatly bringing Mugen down on the cake. His cut was so clean, you wouldn't have believed that someone had cut it if it wasn't for the long blade still stuck in the cake. "And… there," he said, sliding his sword out of the cake and wiping it on a towel before returning it to his sheath.

"Thanks, Kanda!" Lenalee eagerly took the piece off the plate and carefully broke it in half. "Here," she offered him.

"I hate chocolate. I hate sweets." He pushed back her proffered hand and sat down next to her, leaning against the cold cabinets.

"Alright, if you say so," Lenalee took a bite out of the light chocolately heaven. "Mmm," she licked some crumbs off her lips and settled back comfortably beside them, finishing off her half then starting on his.

After the last remnants of the piece of cake had been polished off her hands, she spoke aloud, "Should we go back to our rooms now?"

Her only reply was slow, even breathing. She turned her head to see Kanda's side profile, chin touching his chest and bangs obscuring his closed eyes. Mugen was propped against his shoulder. "Guess we're staying," she whispered, reaching out to sweep his hair to the side. Her finger had nearly stroked his dark navy hair when she stopped. No, getting her hand sliced off for violating his personal space without permission wouldn't be a good idea. She shifted so she was in front of him. Contrary to her expectations, his face retained a slight scowl even in sleep, as if his muscles had accepted a scowl as a permanent facial expression, even in a relaxed state.

She tried to imagine Kanda smiling, actually smiling. She pulled up a mental image of Kanda's face. Scowling. Okay, slowly lift up the corners of his mouth… No, it just didn't work; it seemed too unnatural. But surely he had smiled before, right? Surely he couldn't have been born scowling. She nearly giggled aloud at the thought of a scowling baby Kanda, angrily swinging around a rattle as a mock baby model of Mugen.

Dragging an oversized bag of flour next to the sleeping Kanda, Lenalee settled against it comfortably, tucking in her legs. She whispered, "Sweet dreams, or umm, since you don't like sweets, have _nice_ dreams. Good night!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

It's 1:15AM. My fingers are stumbling over each other as I write this, but you've all waited long enough, so I promised myself I wouldn't go to sleep until this was finished. =D Happy early Christmas, dearest readers! An extra special thank you to the six of you who reviewed my last chapter, Soulless Ghosty, pika318, Death-N'-Hell, Midori Yoshida, animephoenix2468, and aleen-chan! Without you, this chapter would probably have been released a few weeks from now instead of now. =D

I hope this chapter finds you in the best of spirits, the merriest of moods! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year too! If your birthday also happens to be in the next few weeks, Happy Birthday as well! =D

Thanks for reading! Reviews always brighten my day. =)

~D.S.


	8. Noodles for Breakfast?

According to the fanbook, Jerry comes to work at the Order at around the same time as Komui. Meaning that he isn't here yet. And considering he's the one who introduces Kanda to soba, I wonder what Kanda ate before that?

**Noodles for Breakfast**

The sun was up extra early that day, in compensation for the eight consecutive days of rain. The Black Order would be basked in its warm rays after days of cold gray skies. Waking up to the natural light of the sun would seem like a gift from God himself, surely?

Unbeknownst to the sun, eight year old Lenalee had already woken up hours before it and was now sitting on the roof. It was her custom; she would wake up before the sun's thin piercing rays streamed in through the small, high window in her room. She had never felt comfortable waking up to the bright beams searing through her eyelids. Filtered through the streaked window in her room that she could not reach, the light seemed almost artificial.

Dawn broke and Lenalee stretched her stiff limbs, raising her arms high above her head. The view was truly magnificent from the roof; she should come here more often. She had convinced Kanda to take her up here a few days ago after her legs felt up to the long climb. Needless to say, she was ecstatic when they managed the stairs no problem. Sure, she felt that customary soreness that came with climbing up a seemingly hundred story high spiral staircase, but she didn't feel any pangs of pain that had plagued her for the past few weeks.

Breakfast would be served soon. Perhaps Kanda would be down there. She hardly saw him in the cafeteria. If he ever was, he would usually eat so fast his chopsticks were a blur. Slop, that's the word he used to denounce the kitchen's meals. Lenalee herself didn't mind the food so much. She knew that the chefs were overworked and often suffered from disorganization due to the constant resigning of wrung out head chefs. But even so, they made attempts at international cuisine to suit the Exorcists and Finders' tastes. She appreciated the effort, but in truth, the food served was no better than her brother's cooking, which had been abysmal at times, if she was absolutely honest with herself.

Shaking her head a few times to clear her thoughts, Lenalee descended the stairs to the cafeteria. Thank goodness going down was so much easier than climbing up. Turning the corner, she nearly ran headlong into Kanda, who was already wearing his coat and had Mugen strapped to his back. "Kanda! Do you have a mission today?" Lenalee inquired, always eager to hear about his excursions to the 'outside world'. She had a long way to go before she could undertake missions herself.

Kanda, terser than usual in the mornings, replied with a brief nod.

"Are you finding an Innocence fragment?" Lenalee tried to pry more conversation from her stoic friend.

"No. The old man and I have to meet someone in town. Stop asking questions."

Yes! A longer answer! Maybe Kanda was having one of his good mornings. Ignoring his last statement, Lenalee forged on, "Who is it?"

"Some other old man."

"Oh okay! Is it General Tiedoll's friend, General Yeegar?"

"No."

Lenalee grabbed Kanda's sleeve and directed him into the breakfast line, still pondering who it could be. Even though it was only six in the morning, the line already stretched from the serving station to the seating area. The line shifted forward as another group of Finders took their trays to sit down.

Lenalee scrunched up her brow, trying to conjure up further images of white-bearded old men that she knew. Half jokingly, she asked, "Is it Santa?"

Kanda looked at her blankly. "Who's that?"

Lenalee's eyebrows shot up. "You don't know Santa? He's a jolly old man who delivers presents on Christmas to all the well-behaved kids!"

"Che. It's just a silly story made up so kids would stay out of trouble."

Lenalee pouted, "Kanda…"

"So why haven't we ever gotten anything from the geezer?" Kanda's scathing words slipped out before he could stop them.

But contrary to his expectations, Lenalee promptly replied, "Because he can't get through the Black Order's chimneys."

Kanda's expression was nonplussed. "Chimneys?"

"Santa only ever visits a house through its chimney. The Black Order's chimneys have intruder sensors and talisman shields. I asked the 1st Division scientists." She nodded importantly.

Kanda nearly snorted out loud at the mental image of a ridiculous fat, old man squeezing himself down dirty soot-covered openings. "The General isn't meeting Santa. It's someone from the Order, he said. I don't know who it is."

"Hey there kids, what would you like?" A voice from the kitchens broke the flow of their conversation. As much as Kanda bristled from being called a "kid", his need to satiate his hunger overcame his snappish instincts.

"The usual," he said brusquely.

"Just some rice with fried eggs and whatever veggies you can spare, mister!" Lenalee's cheerful voice came as a stark contrast.

"Right!" The voice retreated back into the kitchens and shouted orders to the team of chefs.

"So you're leaving right after breakfast?" Lenalee asked.

"Hn."

Lenalee took that as a yes.

"I wish I could go with you… I've never been allowed to go to town," Lenalee sighed.

Kanda didn't respond. He turned around and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. The only good thing about town is that they have real food, he thought.

Lenalee copied him, similarly leaning but with a foot propped up. They stayed that way as they waited for their orders to arrive, listening to the hustle and bustle in the kitchen behind them, accompanied by the constant sizzle of cooking. The smell was a melange of international cuisine; it couldn't be described as mouth-watering, but it was enough to set off their appetites. For a while, one basked and one sulked in the warm atmosphere. One could almost call it homely. Lenalee looked out at the cafeteria, observing the sea of milling Finders, at least four of them on the move at all times. Not a single black-coated Exorcist could be spotted at the tables. They must all be away on missions, Lenalee reasoned. She had heard the Matron talking about how horribly understaffed the Black Order was.

Understaffed. A euphemism. Even at the age of eight, Lenalee understood that the Black Order was no corporation. They were an army. Fighting against a seemingly indomitable dark force that was growing in power by the minute. Fighting against those monsters, the Akuma, the ones that had destroyed her family.

It is your duty to fight against the Akuma and their creator, the Millennium Earl, they had told her. If not for duty, then for the sake of protecting families around the world from suffering the same fate as yours. The pain of having your family torn apart, you should know better than anyone. Hate the ones who did this to you. Hate the Akuma. Those words had been repeated to her many times whenever she had faltered in her training. But the irony in the statement always had a greater impact on her. In truth, she hardly remembered her parents. Her brother Komui had been her family, her world.

"Here's your food, kids! Next!" A holler interrupted her introspection. She wordlessly took her tray of steaming food and headed for the tables.

Kanda took up his tray too and followed her. His brow furrowed deeper as he watched her drag her heels and put the tray on the table haphazardly, eyes staring into space. _Is she really that disappointed she doesn't get go to town?_ Lenalee listlessly picked up her chopsticks but didn't move to start eating.

"Hey." She looked up at the sound of his voice. Kanda broke apart his cheap wooden chopsticks and stabbed them into his noodles before continuing. "The town is boring. And dangerous. And far too noisy." His scowl deepened at his last point, but he managed to make the corners of Lenalee's mouth twitch upwards a bit. She lifted her head and saw Kanda staring at her expectantly before suddenly jerking his gaze away and returning to his noodles. She really did smile now, responding, "But the noise is part of what makes the town so—Are you eating instant noodles for breakfast?" She interrupted herself mid-sentence, chopsticks falling out of her hand.

Kanda raised an eyebrow and slurped up his mouthful. Chew, chew, swallow. "So?"

"Kanda! That's really unhealthy! There's no nutritional value at all! You can order anything you want at the kitchen, why instant noodles?" Lenalee reprimanded, her own thoughts pushed aside in light of current crisis.

"It's fast. I like noodles," he replied simply, finishing the last of his noodles.

Lenalee sighed exasperatedly. "At least have some vegetables?" Before he could protest, she tipped some of her carrots and broccoli into his empty instant noodles cup.

"Che. Fine." She had that obstinate look in her eye, the one she got when she was looking out for the welfare of others. Namely, his. He knew she wouldn't let him go until he ate the vegetables she had given him. He prodded at them suspiciously, his chopstick sinking into a carrot. "What is this mush?"

"Erm, steamed vegetables, I believe… I don't care for them much either, but they're good for you!" Lenalee enthusiastically put a cauliflower into her mouth.

Kanda muttered something about the inadequacy of the chefs and lack of proper Asian cuisine before spearing the carrot and grumpily chewing. "Hate vegetables," he grumbled under his breath.

Lenalee giggled behind her hand at the fact that the strong and stoic Kanda didn't like vegetables. "You won't grow up to be big and strong if you don't eat vegetables! That's what Brother always told me." She smiled wistfully.

A gruff, friendly voice called out from the edge of the cafeteria. "Yuu-kun! Is this where you've been all this time?"

Kanda scowled as Lenalee looked up. "Oh! It's General Tiedoll! You'd better hurry; I'll take your tray for you!" Lenalee waved him off.

Shifting Mugen across his back, he muttered, "I'm off."

"Have a safe trip! I'll be waiting for when you get back!" Lenalee called as he walked off with Tiedoll.

Tiedoll regarded his pupil with interest. Since when did he eat in the cafeteria when he had the choice to eat in town? He knew Kanda hated cafeteria food with a vengeance. He'd been standing in the front foyer near the gates for the past half-an-hour, waiting for Kanda to show up, his stomach growling for breakfast all the while. His mind flitted to the image of the little Chinese Exorcist girl waving at his insensitive pupil. Huh, so he really did care about that girl. "She's a good friend, isn't she, Yuu-kun?"

"Don't call me that, old man."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Inspired by Hoshino-sensei's new chapter and lingering holiday cheer,  
I decided to finish this chapter before school kicked back into high gear.  
(Haha, so poetic. But not really. XD)

The new manga chapter is pretty darn awesome; we've got the storyline moving again and everything! Won't say too much here... =D Let's hope Hoshino-sensei stays healthy and keeps up the good work throughout the new year!

Anyone want to take a wild stab at who Kanda and Tiedoll are going into town to meet? Cookies to everyone who gets it right. XD Ah, and hint: Kanda doesn't actually know who they're going to meet. He's just assuming that this person is one of Tiedoll's boring friends.

Alrighty readers, happy new year! Stay well, eat fruit, and be happy. =)

~D.S.


	9. A Painting for a Butterfly

Haha, interesting, nobody guessed the right answer to who Kanda and Tiedoll were meeting. Then again, I purposely gave no foreshadowing so I could throw this curveball and give everyone a bit of mood whiplash. =P Enjoy!

* * *

**A Painting for a Butterfly **

As expected, town was uninteresting. Turns out Tiedoll had lied to him about the time that their escortee would show up. He had dragged him to town two hours early to look at art supplies. Kanda stood between two rickety shelves, tapping his foot impatiently as Tiedoll carefully inspected the store's selection of paintbrushes. He held them up one by one, eyeing them critically and 'hmm'ing before putting it back down. Occasionally, he'd stroke the bristles with a finger. Kanda found himself trying to meditate while standing.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Patience. His mind wandered to a painting of a lotus that was on display by the front of the store. Kanda retreated deeper into his mindscape, distancing himself from the dusty art store. The painting of the lotus faded to black… Now he was standing in the middle of a lake, bordered by a few cherry trees in half bloom. A few blossoms carried by the breeze fluttered by him, so close he felt them stroke his hair as they flew by. They landed in the water, floating perfectly, each its own little boat. Calm. Peaceful. Serene.

Kanda looked down at them drifting around his feet. Then, right before his eyes, the blossoms began to grow, new petals shooting out from its base, larger and more pointed than the existing petals, which wilted and broke away. The colour turned from a soft, pale pink to a more exotic light magenta with darker tips. The flowers folded up into bulb shapes before reopening, displaying a golden-yellow center instead of red.

In the distance, a voice called his name, his first name, just once, delicately, before it was brushed away by the wind. Kanda turned towards it, facing the open lake. Had he heard a voice? Was it just the wind? No, there definitely had been a voice, calling him… _I'll find you, _he silently vowed. His world began wavering and shifting colours: the clear, blue-green lake water turned pumpkin orange, the blue sky turned pale red, the green grassy shore turned violet, the pink flowers turned gray, and the silver moon turned black.

He was jolted out of his trance-like state by a pallet of colours thrust across his vision. "Watercolour it is!" Tiedoll grinned triumphantly, taking in his pupil's baffled expression. "You didn't respond to the oil pastels and acrylic paints," he explained, gesturing at the discarded supplies behind him.

Kanda's eyebrow twitched. He had half the mind to draw Mugen on the old man right there and then.

Paying no mind to the growing aura of hostility that Kanda was exuding, Tiedoll went on, "Ok! All that's left to do is for you to buy a present!"

"I'm not buying you a present, old man," came the irritated response.

Knowing it would annoy him to no end, Tiedoll dropped his large, calloused hand down on Kanda's head, mussing up his bangs. "No silly student! Not for me, for that girl!"

"Lenalee?"

"Who else? Yuu-kun, do you mean to tell me that at the tender age of ten you already have another woman—"

He was met with a blade pointed at his chest. "Shut it, old man." Kanda stormed out down the crowded middle aisle of the art store, leaving no room for further discussion.

Scratching his head in bewilderment, Tiedoll moved to hurry after him, but stopped abruptly in front of the painting section. A resounding slam informed him that Kanda had left the store. Ah well, he'd catch up with him later. He waved the store manager over.

"Sorry about the boy, I'll pay for any damages. But first, could you wrap that painting for me?"

…:::…:::…:::…

The clock tower struck ten. In a few minutes, the person they were supposed to meet would arrive.

Kanda looked down at the flat, rectangular package propped up on the side of his chair leg next to Mugen. Tiedoll had said it was for Lenalee, and that Kanda definitely would have chosen this as a gift had he laid eyes on it. _A painting, huh? That's just like the old man._ If he were honest with himself, it was probably better than anything he would have picked out himself. Of course, he'd never give the old man the satisfaction of hearing him voice his gratitude. He glanced up.

Tiedoll's twinkling eyes were fixed on him from above his coffee mug. He winked. _You're welcome._ Kanda mentally heard him say. He scowled. _Damn that man._

Draining the last of the caffeinated drink, Tiedoll put the mug down on the mahogany table and leaned his head on his hand. He noted that Kanda hadn't touched his hot chocolate, had barely spoken a word since the two of them met up at the café. He hadn't responded when Tiedoll had presented him with the painting and described it for him, nor had he shown a shred of curiosity. Yet now, while the two were idling at this secluded café, he kept on glancing down at it, as if trying to see through the brown paper wrappings to the art beneath it.

Ahh, perhaps his wayward apprentice was finally going to appreciate the beauty of art? Tiedoll had half the mind to undo the manager's careful wrappings to show his pupil the painting, and was about to get up and do so when the sound of a shrill jingling bell interrupted him. Their escortee had entered the café.

He marched towards them, shiny black boots raising small clouds of dust. "General. Glad to see you here on time." A stiff hand was extended.

Tiedoll took it and they shook briefly. "Would you care for a drink? I know it's morning, but—"

The man interrupted, "Not necessary. I have already been delayed long enough by the higher ups at Central, requiring my services for this and that. I had better get a promotion in the next two years for all this work, to say nothing of my side experiments I'm conducting for the Order."

Kanda scrutinized him, subtly at first, then openly upon realizing that the man was paying absolutely no attention to him. He wore a dark maroon military style jacket, complete with pristine white gloves. One of his narrowed eyes was half-hidden behind a monocle, but the other betrayed his character in full light. His eyes were hard as stones and spoke volumes of his severity. This was a man who would show no mercy, a man who wasn't afraid of stepping on others for the sake of achieving his goals. A thick, brush moustache bristled as he spoke, his harsh tones punctuating the still air. _Who is this?_ Kanda wondered.

"Come, let us not waste more time." Their escortee turned on his heel and headed for the door. Tiedoll gave an almost imperceptible sigh and said, "Yuu-kun, let's go." Kanda slid Mugen across his back and picked up his painting. He regarded his hot chocolate for the briefest of moments before turning away from it and walking to where a carriage was waiting.

The man's gloved hand grabbed him by the shoulder as he approached. "I haven't seen you before. Little girl, why are you dressed in an Exorcist's uniform?"

His mentor's hand quickly clamped over his mouth before he could shout out the obscenities that were on the tip of his tongue.

"This is my pupil, Kanda Yuu. He," Tiedoll emphasised the word, "is an active Exorcist who has been travelling with me for over a year."

"Interesting. A child Exorcist who is actually able to use Innocence properly. Good." He paused. "Kanda Yuu, that name sounds familiar. Like I've read it from somewhere before…" He released grip on Kanda's shoulder to stroke his chin thoughtfully.

"Never mind that, let's just head back to the headquarters," Tiedoll interrupted hastily, steering the Japanese boy firmly down the street, breathing a sigh of relief that Kanda hadn't drawn Mugen on the Supervisor. "Coming, sir?" Tiedoll called over his shoulder.

"Yes indeed." The man swatted at a butterfly that had landed on its shoulder, clipping its wing with his hand before it could fly away unscathed. It struggled to stay aloft for a moment longer before its crippled wing forced it to land. "Annoying insect." He brushed off his shoulder contemptuously.

Once the reached the carriage, they were joined by two cloaked and masked men, standing stiffly and alertly, dressed in the same dark-maroon colours. "My assistants," he explained as he stepped into the carriage. The five of them seated themselves down in the oversized carriage and the ride back to the Order began.

Kanda carefully held the painting between his knees, wondering what he would say to Lenalee upon returning and how he would present his gift. He'd never done something like this before… She would probably be overjoyed. She would probably try to hug him. Okay, maybe just this once, he'd let her. His mouth twitched into his familiar scowl. Emphasis on "maybe" then.

…:::…:::…:::…

Lenalee walked across the front foyer for the fourteenth time that morning. Just how long did it take for them to escort a person back here from town anyway? They must have stopped for a nice chat, or a coffee, she reasoned.

The next moment, the heavily enforced iron-wrought gates began lifting open. The un-oiled chains groaned tremendously as they lifted the metal slabs off the ground, revealing the group on the other side from bottom up. Lenalee recognized five pairs of boots in total, one pair notably smaller than the others. "Kanda!" she cried happily, rushing forward to meet him, the gate now at chest level.

The moment the gate revealed his scowling face, Lenalee beamed and chattered, "You know what I saw outside the library window today? The most beautiful butterfly I've ever seen! It only rested a moment on the windowsill before flying away again, but I can still draw it for you from memory! I think it was flying towards the town and—" She broke off abruptly.

The gate's chains stopped creaking the same moment Lenalee's voice cut off, dropping a blanket of stifling silence over the entranceway. The gate had been lifted to its highest position, revealing all five bodies in full. A General, a boy, two masked CROW members, and…

"No…" Lenalee whimpered in the smallest of voices, backing away from the man in her nightmares.

Step. Step. The man advanced on her, his polished black boots pounding in time with her racing heartbeat, one step per four beats. His booming voice ripped through the silence like thunder, "Lenalee Lee." Her name rebounded off the walls of the Order, echoing the gravely tones of the one who ruled over the domain that they enclosed.

Step. Step. He was closer now, his hand about to descend on her wrist. Her wide eyes stared into his monocled glare that rooted her to the spot. Fear chilled her to the core of her being and her traitorous heart pumped ice along her arteries, reaching the very extremities of her body. A violent trembling wracked her legs – it was all she could do to remain standing. But the second the fabric of his glove contacted her pale, shivering form, a burst of adrenaline overcame her terror and she bolted without a second thought. She stumbled and fell to her knees, but quickly scrambled to her feet again and dashed down the hall, away from her nightmare. Her pounding heart and frantic gasps drowned out her thoughts as she ran.

Wordlessly, Leverrier pointed after her. His two assistants immediately took off after her, gliding like ghosts instead of running. He sighed and turned to Tiedoll. "Such an uncooperative girl. We give her a place to live, clothes to wear, food to eat, and how does she repay us? Ungrateful brat."

Kanda stood beside Tiedoll, shell-shocked. Had they just escorted back the man who terrorized Lenalee, hurt her, and abused her? The man that Lenalee steadfastly refused to talk about when she was awake but had nightmares about when asleep? Nightmares Kanda had witnessed first hand… Kanda looked up at him disbelievingly. Leverrier's face was a mix of exasperation and arrogance. Inexplicable rage he had never felt before flared up in him. "You—"

Kanda's angry outburst was interrupted by a shrill scream. "Stop! Stop! Let me go!" The screaming grew louder as it approached them again.

"Here you are sir." The muffled voice of the CROW on the right said. He and his partner each gripped one of Lenalee's wrists forcefully. "Let go!" she sobbed, trying to tear her wrists out of their hands futilely. Her efforts were rewarded with a violent slap across her face by the man, her head whipping to the side. Moustache bristling aggressively, he crouched down and gripped her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision, but the sight in front of her was no less menacing. "Now that you have recovered, we will restart your Innocence training. I will overlook this incident if you cooperate with the scientists. Understand?" His grip on her chin shifted to grab her jaw, forcing her to nod. "Good." He released her face none too gently and patted her knee. His white glove came away stained red. "Oh dear, is this from when you tripped earlier? Clumsy, clumsy. This should teach you not to run," he scolded mock-patronizingly. He stood up and straightened his jacket. "I'll be by Hevlaska's place later. Get her synchronized."

"Yes sir." The two CROWs dragged a limp and unresisting Lenalee away, leaving a small pool of tears and blood where they had stood. The tears quickly sank into the cracks of the stone floor; the blood did not. Kanda stood staring at it. Pressure was building in his chest, constricting his airways. His hands were shaking, shaking from rage and disbelief. He looked up at the man nonchalantly brushing off his right shoulder, as if he had not just terrorized an eight-year-old girl out of her wits.

The next second, he felt a strong, firm hand close over his wrist. "Yuu-kun," Tiedoll murmured, giving his head a slight shake. Kanda gave a start, realizing that his hand had closed on Mugen's grip and had unsheathed it two inches. He slid it back and lowered his hand just as the man looked up and strode towards them.

"Well, General, I shall be taking my leave now. I have a lot of work to catch up on." He extended his right hand to shake. Tiedoll raised his own hand hesitantly before stopping four inches from his glove. The man raised an eyebrow and turned his hand palm up. "Oh, so sorry," he chuckled, turning his hand a few times and observing the bloodstains on it. "I'll have to get that cleaned as soon as possible. These are my favourite pair, you know." Tiedoll forced a weak smile onto his face, hoping that it did not betray how sickened he felt on the inside. He had his right hand clamped down firmly on his pupil, who was trembling with anger. He gripped Kanda's shoulder even tighter now, warning him not to move.

The man extended his left hand instead and Tiedoll shook it. He nodded smartly and strode away.

Before Kanda could say anything, Tiedoll silenced him by saying, "I know, Yuu-kun, I know. There's nothing I can do. He works for Central and my influence only goes so far."

Kanda let out a choked garble that was supposed to be an amalgamation of an angry shout, and a strangled threat.

"I know," Tiedoll repeated soothingly, patting him once on the back.

Crackle, beep. "General Tiedoll, your presence is required in Room 414 right away." Tiedoll flipped through his mental list of room numbers. "Room 414… Central's meeting room," he groaned. "This can't be good. Sorry, Yuu-kun, I have to go. Please go back to your room for now and just stay there until things settle back down, alright?" One more pat and Tiedoll was gone too, leaving Kanda standing alone in the front foyer.

He felt a weight pressing against the side of his leg and looked down. The painting was leaning against him, snug in its brown paper wrappings. _This painting… I was supposed to give this to Lenalee…_ The image of a crying, bleeding Lenalee flashed into his mind. He bent down and picked up the painting, holding it securely under one arm. He started walking.

His legs took him in front of his own room. He nudged the door open with his shoulder, and stepped inside, closing it with his heel. It was dark in his room, his cracked stained-glass window permitting only a fraction of the bright sunrays to enter, just enough to cast shadows over his sparse furniture.

He lay the painting down on his bed carefully. The plain, brown coloured paper that enfolded it still betrayed nothing. Making up his mind, he inserted his fingers between two folds and tore the wrapping diagonally across the painting. From there, he eased the painting out on top of the scraps of paper.

His breath hitched ever so slightly. The painting was a beautiful depiction of a dark bamboo forest, native to Lenalee's homeland. _So that's why Tiedoll had said it was perfect for her_, Kanda mused. Some bamboo stalks were standing up perfectly straight, others leaning slightly towards their companions. A pale sunlight highlighted the spiraling greens of the leafy shoots, a testament to the artist's ability. The forest was so densely populated that no light entered the forest – its depths remained enshrouded in gray and black paint strokes.

Kanda couldn't stand to look at the painting anymore. He grabbed its frame and set it down on the table, thinking that he would decide what he would do with it later. For now, he would practice with Mugen. A healthy dose of training would be just as effective as a session of meditation at clearing his mind, maybe even more so. Still dressed in his Exorcist's uniform, Kanda retied his sheath to his side and left his room. The door swung closed behind him.

…:::…:::…:::…

If Kanda had looked at the painting more carefully and in better light, he would have noticed a minute detail in the background that the artist cleverly camouflaged with the grays and blacks of the dark forest. Two panda cubs were frolicking in the shadows, one reaching out a paw to a thread-thin ray of sunlight. Even the slightest rustle of leaves would be able to extinguish the fragile beam of light. 


End file.
